My First Season

My guest today and I met at an EXGO Reunion in Cancun in 2008. His first season was as an au pair Mini Club G.O in Club Med Huatulco in 1997 and his first contract season was in Eleuthera in 1998/1999. From Ottawa, please help me welcome Jason “Big Jay” Reid! Before Club Med, Big Jay was finishing up a 2-year diploma from Algonquin College in Ottawa in Recreation & Facilities Management. Part of his studies involved going to Club Med on a 3-week placement. His roommate that first season was none other than the Chief of Circus, Darwin. As a result of that pairing, Big Jay was determined to learn Circus and became involved with the Circus Shows, as he loved everything about Trapeze (learning the boards, pulling safety lines and catching during the comedy skits of the Circus Shows). He shares a few funny stories with the same theme-almost losing his bathing suit on a picnic boat or losing his bloomers during a circus skit! Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

My guest today is from Vancouver and we worked together in Club Med Buccaneer’s Creek in Martinique during the 1998/1999 season, which was her first season as an Aerobics G.O. She arrived at the village in November 1998 while it was undergoing a labor dispute. Everyone, please help me give a warm welcome to Cherine! Cherine gives a detailed account of her first season and what it was like starting her Club Med career in such a difficult and challenging time, that was the labor dispute. Before Club Med, Cherine was a member of the UBC All Star Team (Cheerleading) and was on the NBA Vancouver Grizzlies Stunt & Acrobatic Team and she even got a bronze medal in the Canadian National Aerobics Competition (CNAC) in 1998. Today she is a member of the Mom Bop Band, which is 90’s-style pop music suited for moms, dads, parents and kids alike (please check them out on Instagram @mombopband and their YouTube channel Mom Bop). Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClyIcQ91S8q_zFHEOYymv0Q

https://www.instagram.com/mombopband/

My guest today hails from the Garden State and is the author of the book “Sex, Surf and Sunburn-My Life Inside Club Med”. His first season was in Club Med Turks & Caicos in the Summer of 1999 as a Scuba G.O. Please help me welcome to the podcast, V.J. “Padre” Mochel! V.J. recounts how he went to Club Med twice as a G.M and that is where he got bit by the Scuba bug. He did not have an interview or audition when he was hired and sent to Turks (I know, right?!). V.J. shares his favorite JoJo the dolphin story and what it was like being the permanent guest host of the foam party in Turks & Caicos and how that came about. There is much more discussed in this episode, so please give a listen and when you get the chance, please check out V.J.’s books below in the links provided. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

https://www.lulu.com/en/ca/shop/vj-mochel/sex-surf-and-sunburn/ebook/product-1k8eepky.html?page=1&pageSize=4

https://www.lulu.com/en/us/shop/vj-mochel/after-the-party/ebook/product-1vkzzpy7.html?fbclid=IwAR2JSsZpj-Q6ptAfVlLpcIcOE9_QOqnaUjWBlab9jxXtzeWRLzYW3PO2_po&page=1&pageSize=4

Very excited for my next guest as he is the first guest on the show to have worked for Club Med in the 1970’s. He is from Montreal and when he applied to Club Med, they sent him to Europe for his very first season (I know, right?!) His first season was in Club Med Porto Petro in Majorca, Spain in 1978 as a Sailing G.O. Everyone, please welcome, Tim Purcell! Tim worked about 8 seasons in Club Med and in only his second season, he opened the village of Eleuthera in the Bahamas! Tim also worked at Cancun, Playa Blanca, Mauritius and Noumea to name a few. We talk about these seasons as well, so I hope you enjoy this episode. *There were some audio/connection issues during taping, so apologies in advance. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

My guest today is the only EXGO I know and worked with who became a commercial pilot after Club Med. He has been on the show before, so please welcome Frontier Airlines First Officer, Nick Margellos! Nick takes us back to when he first thought about becoming a pilot and the many steps, hours and dedication it took to eventually becoming a commercial pilot. He started his journey to becoming a pilot at ATP Flight School in Las Vegas, then becoming a Flight Instructor and then onto GoJet Airlines as a pilot. After roughly 2 ½ years at GoJet, he went to Frontier Airlines where he is currently working. Nick was kind enough to answer all my dumb questions like can a novice land a plane without training and why do pilots always give me geographical updates when I’m eating the peanuts? In the course of the interview, we find out that Club Med does not have the market cornered on dumb questions and know-it-alls: aviation has their share of the same as well. Nick drew a lot of parallels with the scuba world (where he is an instructor) and the flight world, and he’ll tell us all about it in this latest episode. Please enjoy and listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

My guest today and I met during her first season in Club Med Cancun in May of 2004. She was part of the Waterski Team and a fellow Montrealer. Everyone, please help me welcome, Jo Pilon! Before Club Med, Jo was a competitive wakeboarder and was a Quebec wakeboard champion. Jo grew up in a town on a lake with a small population and as a result, had a somewhat sheltered upbringing. Working at Club Med was a bit of an eye-opening experience for her, what with the 22 different nationalities that were present that season. She fully embraced the different cultures, age groups and lifestyles of her fellow G.O’s and is very glad for the experience she had, as it made it much more meaningful and rewarding for her. In this interview, Jo shares a pretty funny story about a trip to the nightclub Dady’Os one night and many more from her first season. After Club Med, Jo obtained a Master’s degree from HEC Montreal and is currently an Operations Manager. Please enjoy and listen here or wherever you get your podcasts.

Please check out her Instagram and give her a follow:

https://www.instagram.com/jopilon11/

My guest today and I started Club Med in the same year, but only met years later at an EXGO Reunion in Cancun. Her first season was in Club Med Punta Cana in October of 1994 as an Archery G.O. Everyone, please help me welcome, from Toronto, Ontario, “Sunny”! Sunny probably has the best G.O. interview story I have ever heard and that is because of the lengths she went to, to get a job in Club Med. I do not want to spoil a word of it, so you will just have to give this episode a listen to find out. As someone who is nicknamed “Sunny” you can imagine she liked everything about Club Med. She started going to Club Med when she was 11 years old. Her first Club Med as a G.M. was in the Mini Club in Ixtapa in the early 80’s. Sunny has many stories from her first season and she is kind of enough to share them with us. Sunny even kept up that traveling spirit long after she left Club Med. In 2017/2018, Sunny, her husband and 3 children went on a 10-month backpacking trip to 19 different countries, 5 continents and they stayed in 94 different places and traveled a total of 69,000 kilometers. She shares that story and how Club Med helped her develop her “purpose”.

**My First Season podcast has always been free to listen to and is available on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes.

My guest today had his first season in Club Med Cancun in July of 1995 as a Sailing G.O. He is from Miami, Florida and before Club Med, he had a summer job teaching Hobie Cat sailing in Biscayne Bay. Everyone, please help me welcome, Larry Katz! Larry had his interview in Florida and then was sent to Cancun at a time when not many G.O’s were sent to Cancun for their first season. He tells a not-so-funny Hurricane Roxanne story-not funny because he was scheduled to leave Cancun the day the hurricane was to hit the Yucatan Peninsula. Larry loved his time as a G.O and took that work ethic to the filmy industry where he became a Second Unit Director or Assistant Director on movies such as Captain America: The First Avenger and X-Men: First Class as well as many more. Larry has agreed to share that story on my other podcast, Butcher Bay Rejects, and I will be posting that link for all of you to hear as well in the near future. Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts and please enjoy this interview with Larry.

If you want to hear Larry talk about his life as an Assistant Director on my other podcast, Butcher Bay Rejects, please see the link below:

https://www.butcherbayrejects.com/e/bbr-ep-42-larry-katz/

My guest today and I met in Club Med Coral Beach in Israel in  2004/2005 after her two-year stint in the Army. Her first season was in the French Alps, in Club Med Avoriaz in November 2002 as a Mini-Club G.O. Everyone, please help me welcome, Maude! She started going to Club Med as a child in the Mini-Club, so it was like a full-circle moment for her. Before she started working at Club Med, Maude was part of a socialist youth group that did volunteer work and were dedicated to bringing about change and equality to society and helping underprivileged children. However it was the group’s collective refusal to allow her to eat a waffle one day, that caused her to leave the group and sign on with Club Med (I’ll let Maude tell that story!). She also shares a funny story about a G.O in Coral Beach asking her to use her signature laugh as a ringtone and Maude nearly getting in trouble because of it. Maude also worked in Production on the Netflix original series “Hit and Run” starring Lior Raz (Fauda) that came out on August 6 2021.

**My First Season podcast has always been free to listen to and is available on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes.

I had the pleasure of working with my guest today in Club Med Cancun in 2004/2005, which was her first season as a Boutique G.O. I was beyond shocked to hear that Cancun was her first season, because if you had met this person that season, you would have sworn she had been a G.O for about five years-she was just that awesome. Everyone, please help me welcome, Shannon (What!!What!!)! Shannon graduated with a double major at McGill University in Montreal and after her audition with Club Med that took place in Montreal (I’m going to find that video, Shannon!), she waited for almost a year until she was told she was headed for Cancun. Shannon is currently pursuing an MBA, which focuses on Disruptive Technology, at Ryerson University. **My First Season podcast has always been free to listen to. My First Season is available on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Podbean App, Spotify, Amazon Music/Audible, TuneIn + Alexa, iHeartRadio, PlayerFM, Pandora and Listen Notes.

Please check out Shannon on Instagram and give her a follow:

https://www.instagram.com/shannelle_j/?hl=en